Recall election

A recall election is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office.

Recall elections in the United States

Along with the initiative, the referendum, and the direct primary, the recall election was one of the major electoral reforms advocated by leaders of the Progressive movement in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, although it was initially proposed in William S. U'Ren's Oregon newspaper. Recall elections are currently prohibited in the federal system. The majority of states allow recall elections in local jurisdictions, but only eighteen states permit recall elections to remove state officials. [1]

Only two governors have ever been successfully recalled. In 1921, Lynn J. Frazier, Governor of North Dakota, was recalled during a dispute about state-owned industries, and in 2003, Governor Gray Davis of California was recalled over mismanagement of the state budget.

In Alaska, Georgia, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Rhode Island, and Washington, specific grounds are required for a recall. Some form of malfeasance or misconduct while in office must be identified by the petitioners. The target may choose to dispute the validity of the grounds in court, and a court then judges whether the allegations in the petition rise to a level where a recall is necessary. In the other eleven states that permit state-wide recall, no grounds are required and recall petitions may be circulated for any reason. However, the target is permitted to submit responses to the stated reasons for recall.

The minimum number of signatures and the time limit to qualify a recall vary between states. In addition, the handling of recalls once they qualify differs. In some states, a recall triggers a simultaneous special election, where the vote on the recall, as well as the vote on the replacement if the recall succeeds, are on the same ballot. In the 2003 California recall election, over 100 candidates appeared on the replacement portion of the ballot. In other states, a separate special election is held after the target is recalled, or a replacement is appointed by the Governor or some other state authority.

Successful recalls

• 1916 recall of J. W. Robinson, Mayor of Boise, Idaho
• 1921 North Dakota recall of Governor Lynn Frazier
• 1994 recall of officials in River Vale, New Jersey: Mayor Walter Jones, Councilwoman Patricia Geier, and Councilman Bernard Salmon
• 1995 recall of California State Assemblyman Paul Horcher
• 1995 recall of California State Assembly Speaker Doris Allen
• 2002 recall of Flint, Michigan mayor Woodrow Stanley.
• 2003 California recall of Governor Gray Davis
• 2005 recall of James E. West, Mayor of Spokane, Washington.

Unsuccessful recalls

• 1978 Cleveland Recall Election of Mayor Dennis Kucinich
• 2008 recall of California State Senator Jeff Denham

Unsuccessful attempts to qualify recall elections

• United States Senator Frank Church of Idaho was the subject of an unsuccessful recall effort in 1967. Courts ruled that a federal official is not subject to state recall laws.
• Evan Mecham, Governor of Arizona, was scheduled for a recall election on May 17, 1988 after a successful petition drive (301,000 signatures). However, the Supreme Court of Arizona canceled the election, since Mecham had already been impeached and removed from office by the Senate on April 4.

Paula Flint <3

Representative recall in Canada

The Governor General of Canada and the Lieutenant Governor of each province can theoretically call federal and/or provincial elections at will, and thus effectively initiate recall elections, but none has ever done so without the prior request of the corresponding first minister, apart from Lieutenant Governor Luc Letellier de Saint-Just in the Province of Quebec in 1878 and Governor General Lord Byng of Vimy in 1927.

The Province of British Columbia enacted representative recall in 1995. In that province, voters in a provincial riding can petition to have a sitting representative removed from office, even a Premier presently leading a government. If enough registered voters sign the petition, the Speaker of the legislature announces before the House that the member has been recalled and a by-election follows as soon as possible, giving voters the opportunity to replace the politician in question. By January 2003, 22 recall efforts had been launched. No one has been recalled so far, but one representative, Paul Reitsma, resigned in 1998 when it looked as if the petition to recall him would have enough signatures to spur a recall election. Reitsma resigned during the secondary verification stage, and the recall count ended.

Recall elections under the Venezuelan Constitution of 1999

Article 72 of the Constitution of Venezuela enables the recall of any elected representative, including the President. This provision was used in the Venezuelan recall referendum, 2004, which attempted to remove President Hugo Chavez:

Article 72: All [...] offices filled by popular vote are subject to revocation.

Once one-half of the term of office to which an official has been elected has elapsed, a number of voters representing at least 20% of the registered voters in the affected constituency may petition for the calling of a referendum to revoke that official's mandate.

When a number of voters equal to or greater than the number of those who elected the official vote in favour of the recall, provided that a number of voters equal to or greater than 25% of the total number of registered voters vote in the recall referendum, the official's mandate shall be deemed revoked and immediate action shall be taken to fill the permanent vacancy as provided for by this Constitution and by law.

See also

• Motion of no confidence
• Right of recall
• Ostracism, the process by which Athenians could ban a possible tyrant from the city.

Books and monographs

• O direito de revogação do mandato político representativo (Brazilian Portuguese)